Interesting article establishing an intellectual genealogy between two of my favorite writers, Lovecraft and WSB via Barlow. Given his interest in the macabre, I'm surprised that Burroughs never had much interest in Lovecraft's work, at least as far as I'm aware of.

H.P. Lovecraft, for all his reputation as a misanthropic recluse, served as a mentor and pen-pal to several budding writers. In addition to Barlow, Robert Bloch of Psycho fame comes to mind (Bloch reciprocated by devoting a good deal of effort into getting Lovecraft's works reprinted by high-profile magazines and book publishers).

As a avid fan of both writers, I too am interested in any connection that can be made. The only time I ever heard Burroughs make mention of Lovecraft was during a lecture he gave where he brought up the Necronomicon in passing and Lovecraft's association to the text.

"I have a thousand faces and a thousand names. I am nobody I am everybody. I am me I am you. I am here there forward back in out. I stay everywhere I stay nowhere. I stay present I stay absent."